How-To Geek

Samsung Wallet is extremely convenient, but if you only use it when tapping a payment terminal or never change the default settings, you aren't getting the most out of the app. On every Samsung Galaxy phone or watch I buy, I change a few Samsung Wallet settings to improve usability, speed, privacy, and more, and add a shortcut for easier access.

Over the past ten years, I've lived in two separate homes and have paid to install solar on both. It has been a great experience, but there are a few things I would do differently if I were starting over today.

Obsidian has long been the gold standard for markdown editors. However, recently, it lost its throne to a newcomer on the scene (at least for me). Tolaria is a fully open source markdown editor that has more functionality than Obsidian, and you should definitely consider using it.

Here's one for the digital scrapbook: I found an ancient computer mouse (with a trackball!) while cleaning out my garage. Covered in a thick layer of 20th-Century dust but still in relatively good condition, the mouse immediately conjured one thought: I wonder if it still works?

When you delete a file, is it really gone? On a traditional hard drive, often not. But on a solid-state drive, the answer is far more complicated — and for most people, far more final.

ESPHome is a free and open-source framework for getting firmware to run on cheap microcontrollers like the ESP32, ESP8266, and RP2040. If that sentence sounds complicated to you, don’t worry. ESPHome is one of the most user-friendly examples of its kind, and you can get started without knowing a line of code.

One of the most helpful aspects of using AI for coding is debugging. Before the AI era, I had to read the code line by line, use debuggers, and put print statements to find bugs. If all failed, there was Stack Overflow and other beginner websites, where people used to tear your code apart. But now? You just share the code snippet with an AI, give some context, and ask it to fix the code, and you're done.

A decent portable monitor costs anywhere from $100 to $200—more if you want touchscreen support. So if you already have an old tablet lying around, why not turn it into a portable monitor instead? A free app called Spacedesk can turn almost any iPad or Android tablet into a true second display for your Windows PC—not just a mirrored screen, but a fully extended monitor you can drag windows onto. Here’s a detailed guide on how it works.

In 2025, Plex announced that it was putting remote streaming behind a subscription, and the rollout is still ongoing. While it feels like a betrayal for many users who had previously been using the feature for free, the change isn't as unreasonable as it seems.

Your VPN is probably leaking information without you knowing. From the domain names you visit to your real identity, if you use a VPN for privacy, you're going to want to read this one.

Bambu Lab is very particular about its slicer, to the point where cloud connectivity must be disabled if you want to use something other than Bambu Studio. Despite the obvious concerns this limitation raises, Bambu Studio isn’t a bad choice.

Two years ago, I replaced my laptop with an Android-based desktop, and for most of the time since, I've used Samsung DeX whenever I needed to do something the internal screen on my Galaxy Z Fold 6 couldn't handle. That worked out surprisingly well for me, but I've since decided to fall back into the familiar arms of Linux regardless, and Samsung isn't entirely to blame.

Sometimes, when you're scrolling through Paramount+'s movies looking for something to watch, the algorithm gods just drop all the right things on you. I was trying to line up a handful of movies to watch throughout the work week, and this mix, streaming for U.S. subscribers, just might do the trick.

When people start shopping for a reliable compact car, they usually end up looking at the same names over and over again. The Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Mazda3 tend to dominate the conversation, while Subaru quietly gets ignored in the background.

Looking for a good movie to watch this week? So far, nothing seems to be unseating the Charlize Theron thriller Apex from the top spot in the Netflix Top 10 movie rankings in the U.S., but one cute and cuddly animated surprise might be the one to do it, and it's on this week's list of movies subscribers should add to their watch lists.

After more than a year of promises, end-to-end encrypted RCS (Rich Communication Services) messages are finally available on both Android and iPhone users as part of a beta. The move locks down chats no matter which platform you're on, although you'll need to meet certain conditions.

Get ready for more Jack Reacher at Amazon. On Monday, Prime Video announced that Reacher, one of the service's most popular shows, has been renewed for season 5. The news was announced ahead of Amazon’s upfront presentation.

Luxury EVs are getting absurdly expensive. It’s becoming increasingly common to see compact electric crossovers push past the $80,000 mark once options are added, all while offering compromises in range, practicality, or driving feel. Badge appeal still carries a lot of weight in this segment, but buyers are beginning to ask a pretty reasonable question: how much are you actually getting for the money?

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Netflix over claims it not only spies on you by collecting data without your permission but has also designed its service to keep you hooked — and your kids.

Many Android phones now promise five, six, or even seven years of major software updates, which is great. If you're spending $1,000 on a phone, it's fair to expect it to last more than half a decade—especially now that performance and camera quality have largely plateaued.